France announce Nike football kit deal 2011-2018
There where some rumours about it back in November 2007, and today the FFF officially announced a football kit deal with Nike. US sportswear giant Nike has won the contract to supply the France international football team from 2011-18 at a cost of 42.6 million euros a year, the French football federation said Friday.
Nike fought off competition from Adidas, the German sportswear manufacturers who have supplied the team since 1972, and Airness, a smaller French company, to win the bidding process. Federation president Jean-Pierre Escalettes said money had talked as the proposals by both Nike and Adidas had been very similar in quality.
"It's the financial aspect that made the difference," Escalettes said. "I had neither the moral nor legal capacity to take any other decision."
Escalettes revealed that the seven-and-a-half season contract was worth 320 million euros, a massive four-and-a-half times that of the existing contract.
Nike threw in a seasonal kit donation for all French national teams worth 2.5 million euros a year.
There remain two tournaments in which France will compete wearing Adidas kit, the Euro 2008 and the 2010 World Cup, the latter reliant on the French side ensuring their qualification.
Les Bleus will wear Adidas gear at this year's European Championship and at the 2010 World Cup if it qualifies.
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Comments
To be honest , I\'m a big adidas fan , and I guess that\'s a shame for France to swap adidas with nike , especially after adidas designed such great kits for France along the years and especially after the great kits they made for EURO 2008 .
Nike will never produce a shirt as iconic as The France 82 World Cup shirt or the Euro 84 shirt.
FFF, you have sold your very soul, for the sake of a few Euros.
I\'m Italian,but I always loved French shirts.
Nothing is so iconic like the three white stripes on the blue-red field..
It would be less sad if Germany announced Nike deal.
I have several French kit: \'80,\'92,\'94,\'96
French shirt will never be really French without the three stripes.
Like French rugby kits.
I\'ll surely buy 2010 shirt,the last chapter of a great history of style.
However...Nike is really defeating Adidas
it wont be the same with nike.
\"Cambiando Marcas\" = Changing Brands.
I think it\'s nice, what do you guys think?
It\'s undoubtful that the nike France shirt will be a great shirt,but anyway I\'ll miss very much
the three stripes.
I agree with Gervillian about the more individuality in nike shirts.
Even if Puma is the worst concerning individuality.
If I was nike I\'ll make a very simple shirt: all blue with a bicolor V collar white and red.
It\'s ok with me, but whhere can I find your blog?
I want this shirt.
Mikie\'s kit is nice, but I\'m sorry, the french kits with the blue,red and white 3 stripes will always be my favourite. What next...... england in adidas! :evil:
Sad days ahead.
I like the mockup but its not what I\'d like to see the national team in. Plus I can\'t see where the number would go in front.
England should stick with Umbro, since its their own and they\'re pretty decent sometimes. But Le Coq Sportif is ugly...so i guess i\'m a hypocrite in saying that.
Adidas should pick up Italy if anyone now, and hold onto Germany.
I don\'t know the nike 2011 template, so I designed one, what do you guys think?
I think they could go on with the retro-style kits till 2011, couldn\'t they?
Finally, France got out of Adidas. All Adidas shirts are really bad and always behind of NIKE. Nike gave up Mexico and got France. Pretty good deal. Nike has five huge football countries, Brazil, France, Netherlands, Portugal, and Korea. I LOVE NIKE FOOTBALL SHIRTS, especially the CODE 7 shirts. I can\'t wait \'til France comes out.
I\'m quite happy to see that our national kit will be designed by Nike (which is already doing a great work with our national rugby team by the way...).
Mikie, i love your mock-up (especially the lily flower) but it was the symbol of our royalty and we unfortunately don\'t use it anymore... :o)
I think that FFF are lunatics....absolute fools.
Mikie\'s kit is nice, but I\'m
sorry, the french kits with the blue,red and white 3 stripes will always be my
favourite. What next...... england in adidas! :evil:
Er, no. England in Nike also will probably be next. Haven\'t they just bought out Umbro?
I\'ve learned the news much earlier this year so this isnt a surprise. Glad to read that so many are nostalgic to the LEGENDARY partnership between Adidas and FFF. I\'m a fan of Les Bleus since the early 80\'s.
However, seeing how Adidas has treated the French kit designs lately, I don\'t mind they switch brands, specially if the money will serve to develop French football even more. I just really deplore the lack of individuality, as already mentionned above.
Nike could do sthg somewhat interesting, judging by how they treated the Rugby XV FFR design.
Mikie, I saw your design after seeing Jamie\'s suggestions at todosobrecamisetas\'s blogspot, therefore, sorry to say that it doesn\'t look as realistic...Hehe to say the least. But keep going ! Just one thing : since monarchy has been long abolished and most French wont reestablish one any time soon, the lily looks really \"adidas\"...I mean, improbable...Impossible !
I AGREE WITH YOU ALL THE WAY
.always been THE brand for football. nike is spreading like cancer and should be cut out of the les bleus\' body. better yet, cut out of REAL football all together. It should stay with those rediculous sports they play here in america with over paid athletes and their caveman mentality. i pledge to never spend a single coin on anything nike including this new jersey. a check mark can never replace the beautiful 3 stripes that make the blue white and red of les bleus besides, have you seen the nike sweat shop videos and the children who are forced to make their products? france might have saved a few dollars, but they have lost their face in football tradition. oh well like they say in america, YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR! Rest in glorious peace les bleus you will be sadly missed.